As is well known, some inks presently used in the printing industry contain organic liquid carriers. The presence of these liquids is a health hazard to pressmen, and the release of the liquids into the air as the ink dries may violate government standards for air quality.
Moreover, some of the present inks, especially those intended for use on offset presses, dry so slowly that it is necessary to dust each impression with a powder, so that when one sheet is placed on top of that which precedes it, the impression is not smeared. This is bothersome and expensive. The powder is also a health hazard to pressmen.
These shortcomings are largely overcome by the inks of this invention. The inks emit hardly any volatiles to pollute the atmosphere because drying proceeds by a different mechanism. Moreover, the drying in most cases is rapid, so the need for drying powders and like tools is minimized. In addition, the inks give better print quality, better tonal ranges and sharper definitions than those obtained with conventional inks.